Activity 1.2 - Expressing Ideas and Questions about Ethanol Burning (40 min)

Target Student Performance

Students ask and record specific questions about changes in matter and energy in response to the unit driving question: What happens when ethanol burns?

Resources You Provide

  • sticky notes (1 per student)
  • ethanol, 95% (10-15 ml)
  • water (10-15 ml)
  • lighter (1)
  • Petri dish, glass (1)
  • Petri dish, plastic (1)

Resources Provided

Recurring Resources

Setup

Print one copy of the Big Idea Probe: Fill 'Er Up and the 1.2 Systems and Scale Storyline Reading: Learning from the Work of Elizabeth Fulhame for each student. Prepare a computer and projector to display the presentation.

Directions

1. Have students discuss the pretest

Ask students to share questions they have after taking the pretest (for instance, on the back of their 1.2 Expressing Ideas and Questions Tool for Ethanol Burning). Explain that we will try to answer most of those during the Systems and Scale unit.

Use the student responses to the class discussions and also their ideas on the 1.2 Expressing Ideas and Questions Tool for Ethanol Burning, as well as the 1.2 Assessing the Expressing Ideas Tool for Ethanol Burning to assess their thinking at the beginning of the unit. By the end of the unit, students should be able to explain that ethanol is an organic material and water is inorganic. For now, listen to students’ ideas, with attention to how they describe matter and energy. In particular, suggestions that ethanol is “flammable” or “a fuel” are ideas that you will be able to build on. It will be unusual at this point for students to be able to identify properties that predict or explain why some materials are flammable and others or not (for instance, that flammable materials largely originated in living things—recently or millions of years ago—or specific chemical properties of flammable materials). They will learn to do this in this unit.

Differentiation
  • If you are teaching this to multiple classes, you can save different versions of the PPT, with Slide 8 completed for each block. Alternatively, have all classes combine their answers and have students look for similarities and differences.
  • Do a Think, Pair, Share to allow students a chance to think and share with a partner before answering the questions as a whole group.
Modifications
Extending the Learning

Students can read more about Elizabeth Fulhame, whose work contributed to the development of photography and scientists' understanding of chemical changes. Some additional resources with information about Elizabeth Fulhame: